Virus Targets Nintendo DS

Gaming systems are becoming the new targets of malicious Trojan
viruses.
October 11, 2005

A Trojan virus disguised as a program that supposedly loads X-rated
material is preying on the Nintendo DS handheld game console, security
experts said Tuesday, making it the second security hazard to hit
gamers in two weeks.



The malicious Trojan comes disguised as a program that promises to
load “hentai,” a Japanese term for pornographic comics, cartoons, and
games, onto the Nintendo DS. Once downloaded and run, the Trojan can
delete system files in the gaming console and make it impossible to
boot up, rendering it useless, security experts warned.



“These Trojans get onto a gaming system in the same way that malicious
applications get onto a PC,” said Shane Coursen, senior technical
consultant for Kaspersky Lab, a security software firm. “If an
application has an underlying code that acts as a Trojan or virus, it
can damage gaming systems if installed on it.”



So far, there are no clear numbers on how many gamers were infected as
few victims report the infections. But the rate of infection is likely
to be very low, said Dean Turner, senior manager of development at
Symantec Security Response.

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An estimated 6 million units of the Nintendo DS have been sold
worldwide, but only a tiny fraction of users hack around their
consoles to run homebrewed applications that extend the capabilities
of their gaming systems.



“There is a community out there called ‘modders,’ who come up with
files and applications to modify the consoles and run non-approved
programs,” said Mr. Turner. “These applications are available for
downloads in gaming groups and chat channels online.”



Trojans for gaming platforms are becoming an increasingly visible
hazard. Last week, security experts identified the first Trojan that
targets a Sony PlayStation Portable system. The virus,
Trojan.PSPBrick, was classified as a Category 1 threat by Symantec,
with Category 5 being the worst.



More than 2 million Sony PlayStation Portables have been shipped since
its launch last year.



Sympathy Unlikely

The victims of the Trojans are, however, unlikely to get any sympathy,
said security experts. Those affected by the viruses voluntarily
downloaded the programs that were supposedly pornographic onto their
consoles using additional hardware. That makes it possible to hack the
console and run other applications than those approved officially.



“There is not going to be much help from Sony and Nintendo because the
device is not being used for what it is intended for,” said Mr.
Turner.



Currently there are no anti-virus programs available specifically for
the Sony PlayStation or Nintendo. Users have to be careful of what
they download and ensure that they are not duped into downloading
malware, said Kaspersky Lab’s Mr. Coursen.



So far the Trojan viruses have only resulted in dead gaming consoles,
but security experts said that it won’t be long before these viruses
begin to inflict even greater damage. As gaming consoles get more
networked, there is a greater chance they will attract the attention
of virus and worm writers.



Last year, Sony enhanced its PlayStation Portable by adding a web
browser. Potentially that could open the window to more malicious
versions of the Trojan.



“Right now, we are seeing malicious viruses that disable the devices,”
said Mr. Turner. “But once these devices evolve and start storing
information like account information and online gaming passwords, then
it is not hard to imagine that the Trojans will evolve to capture this
information.”

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Bye
Joerg